Applicator



March 4, 1941.

A. F. DOTY 2,233,811

' APPLICATQR Filed Jul 26, 1938 4 75' Ullllllll l h 11 lllmnmn" &

INVENTOR Az, redFDozfy ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 4, 1941 PATENT OFFICE APPLICATOR Alfred F.

one-half Conn.

Application July 26,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to an applicator, and, more particularly, to one for holding a small quantity of semisolid material and applying the same to a selected surface.

Although the applicator of the present invention may be effectively employed wherever it is desired to apply an even coating of some semisolid material to any surface, it has particular utility in the application of sundry ointments and creams to the human body.

In the broader aspects of the invention, the applicator comprises a handle having formed integral. therewith a spatulate member terminating in a convex transversely disposed spreading surface or lip, and having adjacent thereto a well coextensive with the lip. The well renders the extremity of the spatulate member considerably more flexible than the remainder of the applicator so that in use, when pressure is applied to the convex spreading surface, av bending movement takes place causing a flexing of the spatulate member along a line coinciding with the medial line of the well which causes the cream held therein to be supplied to the spreading surface as the applicator is moved over the surf-ace desired to be coated.

In the application of certain ointments or creams to the hum-an body, such as are used to treat and alleviate the pain caused by burns, as well as skin ailments of all kinds, it is particularly important to coat the affected area of the skin with a layer of ointment or the like without irritating the skin. This is extremely difficult to do where the ointment is applied by the finger tips, for it is generally impossible to apply to the skin of a patient suffering with painful burns an evenly distributed application of ointment or the like without the necessity of repeated spreading or smoothing operations by the finger tips. These repeated operations are not only extremely painful to the patient being treated, but also results in a detrimental irritation to the affected tissue of the skin.

The applicator of the present invention is par- Doty,

, ticularly adapted to apply to the skin of a patient suffering from burns or other skin ailment an evenly distributed layer of ointment or the like, and, as the device is provided with a well for holding or storing a quantity of the material to be applied, the application may be made as quickly as possible so that the sufiering of the patient may be reduced to a minimum.

A user of the applicator herein disclosed may deposit a supply of the material to be applied in the well without contacting the same, and then Bridgeport, Conn, assignor of to Harold C. Folgmann,

Waterbury,

1938, Serial No. 221,455

may quickly and easily deposit an evenly distributed layer of the material to the affected areas of the skin. The applicator is so constructed that the user may regulate the amount of ointment or cream which will be supplied by the channel .to the spreading surface of the ap plicator without any interruption in the actual application of the ointment or cream.

Accordingly, through the use of the applicator of the present invention, the doctor or person 10 treating the patient may apply the ointment or cream and regulate the applicationof the same with one hand only, leaving the second hand free to perform what other operations might be necessary at the time the application is being made.

In the application of certain medicinal or pharmaceutical ointments, as the hands of the user do not contact the ointment applied, the danger of accidentally transferring the same to extremely sensitive portions of the body, such as 20 the eyes, is obviated. This also removes the danger of transferring germs or the like to the cream or ointment from the hands.

The applicator herein disclosed also finds a particular utility in the application of the socalled brushless types of shaving cream to the face. The so-called brushless shaving creams generally comprise a cream-like base carrying a softening agent which renders the hairs or Whiskers of the face sufficiently soft to permit a removal of the same by arazor.

Due to a mistaken conception of the action of these creams, a large portion of the purchasers thereof use excessive quantities of the same, which is generally thoroughly rubbed into the B5 pores of the skin of the face. In the most efii-' cient use of these cream-s, the same should be applied to the face in only sufiicient quantity to evenly cover the face so that the cream may contact the base of the hair, it being unnecessary 40 to soften the entire hair projecting beyond the surface of the skin. When the cream is applied to the face in excessive quantities and then rubbed into the face, the softening agent carried by the cream not only softens the hair but the skin of the face as well, so that the skin, in its softened condition, is more readily irritated as the razor is moved over the same.

In the past, these creams have been applied to the face by a user who would deposit a quantity of the cream on his fingers and then transfer the quantity deposited to the face by moving the finger tips over the area of the face which was desired to be coat-ed. After the cream had been deposited on the face, a considerable amount would be left adhering to the fingers and which could only be removed by washing the fingers used to apply the cream, so that considerable quantities of the cream were wasted and valuable time was .consumed in removing the remaining cream from the fingers before the actual shaving operation was commenced. It was difiicult to completely remove all of the cream adhering'to the fingers so thatit was impossible at times to securely grip the handle of the razor due to the lubricating qualities of the cream still adhering to the fingers. Many times this resulted in in- .jury to the face during the shaving operation.

This difficulty and annoyance attending the use of these creams has prevented the same from enjoying the popularity to which they are entitled.

The applicator of the present invention completely obviates these diificulties and annoyances, for a quantity of the cream may be disposedwithin the well of the applicator either by squeez ing a portion of the cream from the tube in which it is sold, or, if sold in a jar, by removing a por tion from the jar using the applicator in this instance as a spatula. A user may then, with the quantity of cream deposited within the wall, move the applicator over the surface of the face and coat the same with a film of the cream sufficient to contact the base of the hair. With the face so coated, he may then replace the applicator in its usual storage space, and, with his fingers entirely free of any cream, securely grasp the handle of the razor and shave in the usual manner.

Other features and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a View of the applicator, showing the same in the hand of a user applying a semisolid material to the face.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the applicator.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the same, showing a quantity of the material to be applied held within the well.

Fig. 4 is a similar view, but showing the applicator applied to a selected surface preparatory to the actual application of the material held within the well.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of Fig. 3.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the applicator comprises a pliable body member ID of spatulate form and a handle II. For convenience of manufacture, the handle H preferably is formed integral with the spatulate member I!) so that the applicator. may be molded in a single operation from some suitable material such as relatively soft rubber.

Although in the preferred form of the invention the applicator is formed from some material such as rubber, the applicator may beformed of some other suitable pliable material, if the same is to be used with a rubber deteriorating substance. i

The spatulate member I is formed with one face l2 thereof having a smooth uninterrupted surface, while the opposed face [3, in the preferred form of the invention, is formed with a transversely extending trough or channel forming a well I 4 for holding a supply of the material tobe applied preparatory to the actual application. The face I3 is provided also with a convex spreading surface or lip l adjacent the well l4 formed by the transversely disposed channel and coextensive therewith.

The well I4 is of sufficient depth to render the taken along line 5-5 spatulate member ID relatively flexible by forming, as will be understood, a transversely extending line of weakness so that the end of the spatulate member can be readily flexed along the medial line of the well M.

The marginal edges of the spatulate member are preferably rounded oil or beveled, which, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, provides opposed angular faces I 6 at the marginal edges of the spatulate member. This, as will be hereinafter more fully explained, permits a more even application of the material applied.

In use, a quantity of the material to be applied is disposed within the well I 5 formed by the channel, and a user, grasping the handle, strokes the selected surface and by a slight pressure against the face [2 of the applicator causes the free end of the spatulate member ID to flex about the line of weakness formed by the channel, and the material held within the channel is frictionally withdrawn due to its contact with the surface to which the material is to be applied. The convex spreading lip, as it is coextensive with the channel, tends to flatten down and smoothly distribute and spread the material upon the selected surface. The flexing of the tip of the spatulate member causes the cream or the like held within the channel to be ejected therefrom, and a decrease or increase in the pressure against the face l2 of the applicator will permit a corresponding greater or lesser amount of cream to be drawn from the channel so that the depth of the layer applied may be correspondingly changed. The spreading lip, as it is smoothly formed and convex in cross-section, reduces to a minimum the friction between the same and the selected surface so that, where the surface to be coated is extremely a. sensitive one, very little irritation is produced due to the smoothing action of this lip as it is moved across the surface.

The opposed angular faces I6 of the spatulate member tends to smooth out the edges of the layer of the material applied and prevents undue irritation which might be caused by relatively straight edges.

The channeled portion of the spatulate member may also be used to apply a coating of the material to relatively angular portions of the face such as the chin, as these angular portions may be conveniently received within the channel permitting the same to be easily coated.

It will be seen, therefore, that, in use, sundry ointments and creams may be applied to the human body without necessitating a contact of the cream or ointment with the fingers and hands of the user, so that the application is made more convenient and obviates the untidiness as well as the annoying condition which results when thecream is applied with the fingers.

The use of the applicator of the present invention also obviates the dangerous condition which many times arises when certain creams or ointments such as depilatory creams used to remove superfluous hair are appliedto certain portions of the body, and which,- when inadvertently brought into contact with other portions of the body, such as the eyes, producesv often painful as Well as harmful irritations.

The applicator may be very quickly and easily cleaned merely by wiping it off so that a single application may be used to apply a number of different creams or ointments without the necessity of going through some elaborate cleaning operation.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In an applicator comprising a handle terminating in a plible spatulate body portion having a transversely extending concave channel formed therein; and. a convex spreading surface adjacent said channel and coextensive therewith, the medial line of said channel forming a line of weakness transversely of said body portion whereby material held by said channel will be ejected therefrom and supplied to said spreading surface when the body member is flexed along said line of weakness so that said material may be evenly spread over the area to be coated by stroking the area with said applicator.

2. An applicator comprising a spatulate member of substantially pliable material having a handle portion at one end and near the other end thereof on at least one face thereof, a concave holding chamber extending transversely of said member for holding a spreadable paste and a spreading means contiguous with said chamber at the end of the applicator and over which said paste is fed in the use of the applicator from said chamber to the surface upon which the paste is to be spread.

3. An applicator comprising a spatulate member of substantially pliable material having at least one face thereof transversely concave to form a holding chamber for a spreadable paste, and terminating in a transversely disposed lip for spreading paste held within said chamber and ejected therefrom by frictional drag when the applicator is moved. over a surface with the lip in contact therewith in a direction extending from said lip toward said chamber and coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the applicator.

4. In an applicator of the type described, comprising a body portion of pliable material; a

handle formed integral with said body portion, said body portion having at least one substantially flat face terminating in a transversely extending convex spreading lip and having a well contiguous with said lip for holding a supply of nonrunning plastic material which is ejected from said well by an application of pressure against said lip when disposed against the surface to be coated and fed to the same by frictional drag as the applicator is moved over said surface in a direction coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the applicator.

5. In an applicator comprising a handle terminating in a spatulate body portion of flexible material having a transversely extending concave channel formed therein, said channel forming a well for holding a supply of spreadable paste, said body portion having a convex spreading lip contiguous with said channel and coextensive therewith, the medial line of said channel forming a line of weakness transversely of said body portion whereby material held by said channel will be ejected therefrom and fed to said spreading lip by frictional drag when the applicator is moved over a surface with the lip in contact therewith and flexed along said line of weakness.

6. In an applicator of the type described, comprising a body portion of pliable material; a handle formed integral with said body portion, said body portion having at least one substantially flat face terminating at the end opposite said handle in a transversely extending convex spreading lip and having a transverse channel contiguous with said lip for holding a supply of nonrunning plastic material, the medial line of said channel forming a line of weakness transversely of said body portion, so that, when the lip is pressed against a surface to be coated, the

depth of the channel is shortened thereby eject- .ing the material therefrom to supply the same to said spreading lip by frictional drag when the applicator is moved over said surface in a direction extending from said lip toward said channel and coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the applicator.

ALFRED F. DOT'Y. 

